Twirly Cards : The Art Of Twirling

[Chris From The Gulag]

I've used that phrase on a few occasions not really knowing the origin.

In essence , a free bus pass when one reaches the official state retirement age.

Present one before 9.30 am and the likely reaction is " Your too early ! "

Some bright spark added a little slang to " Too early " ... if said quickly ... to produce " Twirly. "

Recall an old episode of Bergerac ... two female pensioners on the make ( Joan Sims one of them ) ... expression used in that.

No bad for 2018 ... and old custom revived ?






Odd ... my photo has bars in front ... and an additional photo showing a side view ?

Already come across a couple of informal Twirly groups ... meeting at different locations to enjoy a chat and a pint.

Many pubs over the whole North Nottinghamshire / South & West Yorkshire areas now do an 8 oz. steak with all trimmings and a pint of your choice ... 2 for £ 10 ... on more than just one day a week ... I'll have some of that ... 16 ouncer + 2 pints !!!

Guaranteed not to have fallen at the third in yesterday's 3.30 !

Always advisable to map out the wc's on route before setting off ?

Good to see some activity at grass roots level ... so easy to shut one's self off from the outside world when old and single.

[Ayjay]

The husband of a friend of mine received his bus pass and was looking for some way to use it. He bought a motor bike on eBay and decided to travel from Lymington to Brighton by bus to collect it. That's close to 90 miles and a two hour trip by car.

He left at 9.30 a.m. and eventually arrived in Brighton late afternoon after a fair few changes of bus. Started the journey back on the bike and it began to rain, a real deluge, by the time he was roughly halfway back he was soaking wet and freezing cold.

He bought two microwaved pasties from a garage and stuffed them in his jacket to warm himself up - and then threw them away when they were cold.

I'm not sure how many pasties he got through on the way home but it was a good number.

It was 8.30 p.m. by the time he got home again, I don't think he's used his bus pass since.

[Chris From The Gulag]

Keeping score of the most numerous seen on routes now travelled in North Nottinghamshire / Derbyshire and all compass points within Yorkshire :



If nothing else , one sees the importance to the local communities of the former mining industry and , for some , their gradual decline to the shells of life as it once was for far too many.

31 the current record ... Worksop / Doncaster / Pontefract / Castleford trip.

[Chris From The Gulag]

Barnsley yesterday ... very enjoyable ... almost like stepping back some 50 years to the vibrancy of North London in my youth.

A paradise for the fast food fraternity ... some multiples but not dominating like so many other towns ... bit of the old rugby training from aeons ago came in useful ... weaving through the crowds.

Arthur Scargill ... love him / hate him ... certainly strong views still heard in Worksop some 30 years on ... would be somewhat ironic if a statue was ever erected ... opposite the one of Dickie Bird ... with that finger raised , pointing at dear old Arthur ... for a century or two ?

At least one community has risen from the ashes if not back to where they were a mere generation ago ?

[Chris From The Gulag]

A thought ... perhaps I should take the opportunity and put me name down for volunteering duties at Carers UK ?

On me travels , take a soap box and bullhorn , set me self up in some of the villages and towns I pass through , and really take " The Message " to those on the street.

A proper roadshow !

If so , local bookies are now offering 3 - 1 on a tar and feathering , 5 -1 on a tin-panning , 10 - 1 on a lynching , 20 -1 bar ... before the 5th. appearance.

What do they know that I don't ?

Perhaps it's me London accent ... in former coal mining areas ... must take off that bobby helmet ???

Still , could be worse , are that " Other Outfit " also looking for volunteers ?

Odds will definately shorten if I did ???

Perhaps I should stick with this laptop and continue to spread my own message ?

The Message ... FROM the street.

Location makes no difference ... food from a foodbank in Cornwall or from Newcastle , it tastes the same to over 100,000 of our comrades.

And so does the message taste the same all over the country.

Austerity ... and the human cost ... including carers.

[Chris From The Gulag]

Out twirling again today.

Few words of greeting exchanged with a fellow twirler on our way from Pontefract to Selby ( And the prospect of the local landmarks , large cooling towers at Ferrybridge , being demolished in the short term. )



No doubt , a future housing estate ... with the price thereof way out of reach for the local populace !

The Ferrybridge power station workers being near to the top in the wage earned league table ... soon to taste relegation as their wages drop off a cliff ?

" What do you now do for a living ? "

" Student social anthropologist " was my reply.

" Specialist area ? "

" CarerLand. "

" Unlike David Attleborough and his experiences with hidden tribes in far way jungles , I have a more unique problem. "

" What's that ? "

" Family carers ... they tend to hide in plain sight ! One doesn't recognise a family carer unless you ask them ! "

" Wheelchairs a good clue. Odds on the pusher is a family carer. See L plates and that's probably a paid care worker. "

" He / she will stop every five mintes or so for the statutory tea beak. "

" Occasionly , the wheelchair user will be left stranded. The care worker's shift has just ended. To complete the journey , it's time and a half ... or double bubble on a weekend day or public holiday. "

I lost him at that point ... just outside Eggborough.

[Chris From The Gulag]

Had to smile ... it's happening all over the UK ... bus loads of twirly card holders ... not just in North Norfolk !

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/over-60s-th ... -1-5738528

" Too many older people " with free bus passes threatens future of Coasthopper, says boss.

A popular coastal bus route is among a host of rural services under threat because there are too many people using it with a free bus pass, the firm’s boss claims.

Norfolk County Council subsidises the route and Martin Wilby, chairman of the council’s environment, development and transport (EDT) committee, said: “We work very closely with all the bus operators across Norfolk. There are 188,000 bus passes and nine million journeys were taken using bus passes in the county last year. It costs the council £11.7m a year to reimburse bus companies for this. We get £8m from central government, so we have a shortfall of nearly £4m.”

He added: “Bus passes are extremely important for elderly people, especially those living in rural areas who rely on public transport to go about their everyday lives such as going to the supermarket or visiting the doctor.

“This funding gap is not exclusive to Norfolk, it’s a national problem. But we’re not prepared to sit back and let it continue without a fight. It’s vital that we work closely with districts and bus operators to lobby central government. And I will be writing to all of our Norfolk MPs on behalf of EDT committee to spur them into carrying out a review.”

Ground zero ... Worksop bus station ... 40 yards away.

Come 9.30 and the three buses due in to take anyone outside the manor ... Doncaster / Chesterfield / Rotherham ... and numerous stops in various hamlets and villages in between.

Probably a maximum of 10 per bus ... 2 per hour ... until round about 4 pm.

I would suggest that actual passengers paying for the journeys to be a maximum of 8 ... leaving 22 of us twirlies ... some , like me , needing 2 or even 3 more buses to reach our destinations ...pattern repeated at the major interchanges.

Buses ... for the poorer and needier amongst our ranks.

What else did they expect ?

3 hours 40 minutes to travel 50 miles and 3 buses ... costing a couple of pennies short of £ 20 ???

Depending on that final destination , sometimes 40 minutes or more between buses !

By the time you arrive , half hour , then set off again unless you want to be stranded !

Only us twirlies ... with little option other than to take advantage of a sub standard service.

Having said that , a twirly card ... essential for someone like me that likes to explore ... even if there's not much to explore out there within a 50 mile circle of Worksop !

Derbyshire Dales !

Yep ... made Matlock ... any further and I would have been stranded on the way back !



Very inviting Matlock ... shame about the bus station ?

3 people within 45 minutes ... Saturday afternoon ... as I was waiting for the bus back.

2 buses arrived and left ... both empty in either direction.

Not one local zombie in residence to pass the time of day with ... a welcomed change ?

Perhaps the locals knew something I didn't ?

[Charles_2112]

Locked - usual reason!